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Greek and Roman Civilizations
Roman Architecture
ROMAN ARCHITECTURE
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The surviving architecture in Rome
today is testimony to its grandeur in the
days when it was the capital of the Roman
Empire. Rome, located on the Tiber River
and surrounded by seven hills that provide
a naturally protected site, controlled the
whole Mediterraneanworld for manycenturies.
The buildingsthat embellished Rome
at the peak of its power during the Imperial
period were numerous and impressive.
These included theaters, baths, temples,
libraries, imperial palaces, basilicas or pub
lit meeting places, fora (plural of forum) or The forum was the chlet marketplace of Rome. It
commercial and social centers of the city, aisocontainedtemples, basilicas,theSenateHouse,
and arenas for public events. Public monu- and publk monuments to the emperors.
ments commemorating the achievements of emperors, such as triumphal arches and
columns, were also erected. Bridges, aqueducts (artificialchanneling systems for conducting water to the city), and a strong defensive wall with access gates completed the array of
public structures that once adorned the city of Rome. These types of monuments and
structures could be found in any Roman city throughout the empire.
The nucleus of a Roman city was the forumjan area of open space that served as
the commercial and social center where people met to socialize and businesses sold their
goods\ Lawcourtswere also locatedthere. Aforum consisted of a central, open, rectangular
space surrounded by basilicas, which were long, open structures supported by columns,
and a temple. The greatest and oldest forum in the Romanworld was the Forum Romanum,
the chief marketplaceof Rome. It was unusual'in that it was not built in one phase, but grew
in size through the years. It was filled with basilicas, temples, the Senate House, and the
triumphal arch of Septimius Severus.
The Romans adopted several architectural features from the Etruscans and the
Greeks. They adopted the form of the arch from the Etruscans. From the Greeks, they used
the classicalorders of the Greek temple, most commonly the Corinthianarchitectural order.
The Romans developed and combinedthese elements with a new type of buildingmaterial,
concrete, to form their own unique architectural style.
During the Late Republic period, the Romans invented a new building material that
we still use today. By mixing volcanic dust and lime mortar, they produced a cement that
hardened into concrete. The Romans used it as the core for the walls of buildings. Because
concrete was unattractive to the eye, they faced it with marble slabs or baked clay bricks.
The many surviving Roman monuments throughout western Europe testify to the strength
and durability of concrete.
The Romans made great use of the Etruscan arch. The Etruscans used it as a single
stone structure to build gateways in their fortification walls. But the Romans used the arch
in various ways, and in combination with the use of concrete, created architectural
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Greek and Roman Civilizations
Roman Architecture
structures of great size and strength. They cr ted the vau# by putting a series of arches
side by side. A dome was created by several arches crossing in different directions in a
circular space that intersected in the center. The use of arches and concrete revolutionized
Roman architecture. New ways of exploitingthe interior space of buildingswere developed,
thus creating monuments of great size and complexity.
There are many examples of these arch structures in Rome and the provinces. The
most simple use of the arch can be seen in the construction of city gates, bridges, and
aqueducts. Bridges consisted of a series of arches joined in a line and were built across
valleys and rivers. Many are still in use today. An aqueduct consisted of one to three levels
of joining arches through which water was channeled into a city. Vaulted arches were used
in the construction of triumphal arches commemorating the achievements of the Roman
emperors. The walls were carved with sculpted reliefs of the emperors' triumphs, sacrifices,
and battles. Corinthian columns also decorated the outside of the archways.
Arches and Greek columns were also used in the constn~ctionof theaters and
ampitheaters (round theaters). The most famous example of such a monument was the
Colosseum in Rome. Arches were used throughout the building to support the different
levels of the seating area. The outer facade consisted of three stories of arches, decorated
with Greek columns in between each of the arches. Arches, vaults, and domes were used
in the construction of the imperial palacesand public buildings, such as baths, to create vast
interior spaces.
The Greek influence in Roman architecture can be seen in the form of columns on
the outer facades of the aforementioned monuments, but it can most easily be noticed in
the constructionof basilicasand temples with the use of Corinthian-stylecolumns.A basilica
was a longporticosupported by a series of columns. It served as an open-air, public meeting
place. A typical Roman temple consisted of a closed structure built on a high platform. The
temple structure, in most cases, hada deep, columned porch in the front. Sometimes, it was
surrounded entirely by columns, as in a Greek temple.
One of the most impressive and fully-preserved examples of the Roman ability to
exploit interior space in conjunction with the u{e of Greek columns was the Pantheon. The
Pantheon, built by Hadrian, was a temple dedicated to all gods. The building was made of
solid concrete and consisted of a round main room topped by a dome. It was fronted by a
porch of Corinthian columns. The interior of the temple was lavishly painted and decorated
with gold.
The private dwellings of the Romans were of two types. The common people lived
in tightly-packed apartment buildings, much like today. The wealthier Romans built large
townhouses, furnished with numerous rooms and a garden. The center of the typical Roman
housewas the atrium or living room, which was surroundedby the other rooms of the house.
These included the kitchen, bedrooms, dining room, and store rooms. At the end of the
house was a small garden. Because the houses had very few and small windows, the
sloping roof of the houses had a hole right above the center of the atrium, called the
compluvium, where light and air could enter. The rain water would be collected below in a
pool, called the impluvium, which was the same size as the hole. It was common for two
rooms in the front of the house on either side of the main entrance and fronting the street
to be usedas shops. The Romans decorated their houses with elaborate frescoes depicting
scenes of everyday life.
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Greek and Roman Civilizations
Roman Architecture
EXAMPLES OF THE ARCHITECTURE
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Roman Bridge
Ronuan Aqueduct -
Roman Triumphal Arch
Pantheon Exterlor
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Roman Townhouse
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Pantheon Interior
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Greek and Roman Civilizations
Roman Architecture
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Date
CHALLENGES
1. What was the forum?
2. What was the function of an aqueduct?
3. Which architectural feature did the Romans adopt from the Etruscans?
4. What is Roman concrete?
5. What is the Pantheon?
6. Which architectural feature did the Romans.adopt from the Greeks?
7. What was the central feature of a Roman townhouse?
8. How is a dome built?
9. What is a vault?
10. What was the impluvium?
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